To balance the chemical equation for the conversion of oxygen gas (O₂) to ozone (O₃), you need to ensure that the number of oxygen atoms on the reactant side equals the number on the product side.
The unbalanced equation is:
\[ \text{( )} O_2 \rightarrow \text{( )} O_3 \]
Each molecule of O₂ contains 2 oxygen atoms, and each molecule of O₃ contains 3 oxygen atoms. To produce O₃ from O₂, you can start with 2 O₂ molecules to generate 3 O₃ molecules.
The balanced equation would then be:
\[ 2 O_2 \rightarrow 3 O_3 \]
So, the coefficients to balance the equation are:
- Coefficient for O₂: 2
- Coefficient for O₃: 3
Hence, the balanced equation is:
\[ 2 O_2 \rightarrow 3 O_3 \]